Immunopathological Study of Cartilage Invasion in Laryngeal Glottic Carcinoma

Abstract

Utilizing laryngeal tissue removed from glottic-type laryngeal cancer patients, immunohistopathologic evidence of invasion into surrounding cartilage was examined. The 40 subjects of this study were glottic carcinoma patients who had undergone total laryngectomies at the Kurume University Hospital between 1988 and 2002. Laryngeal cartilage invasion was observed in 22 of the 40 subjects. The cause of death by primary disease was observed predominantly in patients with cartilage invasion. Using immunohistochemical techniques, it became evident that the perichondrium of normal laryngeal cartilage was constructed of type 1 and type 3 collagens. In some glottic carcinomas, immunohistochemical positive staining of types 1 and 3 collagenases detected expression of matrix metalloproteinases [MMPs] 1, 3 and 8. These findings suggest the possibility that glottic carcinomas secrete MMP, damage the membranous portion of cartilage and, as a result, facilitate the invasion of cancer cells. Analyses of consecutive sections revealed the distribution of S-100 protein positive (Langerhans) cells. These results also demonstrate that MMP-2 and S-100 positive cells are useful as markers for indicating invasion of glottic carcinomas into laryngeal cartilage.